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Cable recommendations
Cable Recommendations Untangling the Web of PS2 Cables at IGN is a good primer on the various cables the PS2 can use, complete with photos. * The original cables that come with the PS2 are called Composite Video cables. They have two red/white plugs for stereo audio, and single yellow plug for composite. Video will be muddy. Better than an RF switch, but not by much. * S-Video cables have two red/white plugs for stereo audio, and a single plug for video. The video plug has three internal connections for the separate video signals. ** Second only to component cables in video quality. ** All HDTVs will display all games over S-video cables. ** Do not permit use of progressive scan video (480p) in the relatively few games that support that mode. * Component Video cables have two red/white plugs for stereo audio, and three red/green/blue plugs for video. ** Best quality video of any cables. ** Video will be noticeably clearer, brighter, and more colorful in all games and DVDs. ** Some HDTVs will not display 240p video over component cables. This includes all PS1 games and a few PS2 games like ICO and Disgaea. * Multi-function cables have extra output plugs. ** Some combination of composite plus S-video, or composite + component, or all three video outputs together. ** The audio output remains the same two red/white output plugs for all video. * The downside is that the more plugs the more chance for signal drain through improper grounding or cable defects. Cable Recommendations There are plenty of cables out there from all sorts of suppliers. If you're not sure what to get, here are some recommendations. These are intended to be a helpful guide only. * Official Sony PS3 component cables ** Guaranteed to work with a PS2. ** Pricey, but excellent quality. ** Downside is that the plugs are not gold-plated. ** Same potential drawback that all component cables have. * Cheaper, gold-plated plug component cables, GameFAQs' Gremio6181 recommends these. http://www.ebay.com/itm/200707158406?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Those are apparently these cables. http://innexinc.com/product_detail.php?prod_id=KMD-P3-9051&plat_id=31&page_num=2 They don't have any extra plugs, and do have gold-plated connectors so that the signal doesn't degrade over time due to corrosion. Ideal for those whose HDTV displays all signals over component, or who don't have any PS1 games, or other 240p games. * For multi-function cables, Dunadain and Zacek of GameFAQs are recommending these cables, "...from Walmart, Energizer brand I think, that makes my PS2 look beautiful on hd. It's a massive thing with inputs from ps2/3, wii, & x360, then outputs in component & composite & svideo, plus red & white audio. It should work for anyone here on any tv." Those are perfect for those concerned if their TV will display 240p games over component cables. They have component outputs for best video for 480i games, and S-video outputs that should work with all HDTVs. Should even work with a CRT TV that only accepts composite input (in which case you should probably be using the original composite cables that came with the system). The extra input and output plugs demand a little higher manufacturing quality, but if you get a working set and don't let the extra plugs ground themselves to something metal they should do fine.